Jill DuffyCircleof6 (for iPhone)When in an unsafe situation, how do you relay a message quickly to the people who can provide help? The Circleof6 app gives you a few ways to reach out without having to think about it.

When in an unsafe situation, how do you relay a message quickly to the people who can provide help? The Circleof6 app gives you a few ways to reach out without having to think about it.

The circleof6 app for iPhone and Android was created for young women—university-aged in particular—to immediately contact six people in their lives who can help them when trouble strikes. You connect six contacts to the app, preferably people living in your vicinity, and then have the ability to send them all a pre-written message, simultaneously, requesting help or letting them know you're safe.

Circleof6 is easy to use and doesn't cost a dime, making it an app that's easy to recommend to its target audience. The group behind the app, however, could improve it a bit to make it more universal, giving the same ability to reach out to friends when you're in danger, despite whether you're in college.

Types of MessagesYou can send three types of messages with circleof6: pick me up, pretend call, and healthy relationships.

The first message reads: "Come and get me. I need help getting home safely. Call when you're close. My location is near..." followed by a GPS-generated link to your current location. The message ends with a standard closing saying, "Msg sent thru Circleof6."

The second message type, associated with a phone icon, reads, "Call me and pretend you need me. I need an interruption."

The third option, indicated by a message icon, says, "I'm looking up information about healthy relationships. Just letting you know…" with a link to an anti-abuse website called Love is Respect.

At the bottom of the screen are a few more icons. From left to right, the first is a check mark, which messages your circle to say you're safe and sound. The next one, which looks like a warning or danger sign, gives you options to auto-dial a hotline for relationship abuse, or rape and sexual assault. The last one on the right is an 'i' for information about the app.

Possible ImprovementsWhile the app supports a noble cause, it has a fair amount of room for improvement in function and usability. For one, requiring six contacts for the app to work at all seems silly. You can circumvent this requirement by listing a person twice (the app doesn't stop you from doing so), but you shouldn't have to.

Second, I'd like to see a quick dial feature for your contacts. There are times when you can get the help you need much faster by calling someone directly, and they can better judge your level of urgency by your voice. The simple 99-cent app Speed Dialer Factory, which creates speed-dial icons on your phone's home screen, may actually be a better bet for this use.

Another idea: how about integration with the camera and video app, and the ability to automatically upload images or video to the cloud, or automatically send them to your friends? I can imagine needing to document something—say destruction of property—when you know that a person's temper is escalating and you could face imminent harm. Or wanting to take a picture of the license plate on the cop car that pulled you over when you were driving alone at night on a deserted road… just in case.

How about a "blaring noise and light" button for making a ruckus in a truly threatening situation, similar to a rape whistle? Not to toot my own horn, but a few of these proposed new features seem like they would be more useful than texting a link to your friends that you're looking up information about healthy relationships.

Friends to See You ThroughCircleof6 is one of those apps that I recommend most people download and setup, while also hoping no one ever has to use it. The concept is right, and I think through time, testing, and user feedback, it could become more useful for more circumstances, in addition to helping college-aged women get in touch with the friends who can help them.

Jill Duffy is a contributing editor, specializing in productivity apps and software, as well as technologies for health and fitness. She writes the weekly Get Organized column, with tips on how to lead a better digital life. Her first book, Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life is available for Kindle, iPad, and other digital formats. She is also the creator and author of ProductivityReport.org.
Before joining PCMag.com, she was senior editor at the Association for Computing Machinery, a non-profit membership organization for...
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